It might’ve sounded cliché, but the Clippers knew what ailed them in their 119-113 New Year’s Day loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

“It was all defense,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday. “Like, before the game, if you had told me, ‘OK, Doc, you’re going to score 28 in the first quarter and 30 in the second,’ you would say, ‘OK, we’re right there, should be winning.’ But we were not.”

No, sir. The Clippers put up a respectable 58 points at halftime, but in that span they also gave up 76 first-half points to the 76ers – the symmetry of which Rivers, at least, found amusing.

Much more amusing than what occurred defensively.

“It just feels like right now we’re in this defensive rut where we have to search for the right unit, the right group of guys to give us defensive fight,” Rivers said after that loss to Philadelphia. “And it’s hard to win that way, so we need everyone to join in.”

In Friday’s 121-111 victory in Phoenix, where the Clippers led by as many as 29 points in the second quarter, defense proved more of a group effort.

After getting a practice to address their defensive shortcomings, the Clippers held the Suns to 44 first-half points, tied a season-high with 12 steals, limited Devin Booker’s opportunities and again stymied Deandre Ayton. The rookie center is averaging 16.7 points per game, but he scored a season-low four points Friday — the same total he put up his first time facing the Clippers on Dec. 10.

Forward Danilo Gallinari told reporters in Phoenix he enjoyed the effects of the extra energy he’d prescribed to boost the team’s D.

“The defense was on point,” Gallinari said. “We were executing the game plan perfectly, and we were playing very aggressive, we played perfect defense.”

Well, sort of. Phoenix went on a 22-5 run and outscored the Clippers 34-23 in the third quarter.

“But other than that,” Gallinari said. “Our defense was pretty good.”

TUNE IN, AMERICA

After two thrilling meetings this season, the third installment of Clippers vs. Warriors will be must-see TV — at least that’s how ESPN expects basketball fans to view it.

The network announced Friday it would replace the previously scheduled Jan. 18 matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers with the Clippers’ game that night against Golden State at Staples Center.

Entering the season, the Clippers didn’t have any games scheduled to air on ESPN or ABC, and just three on TNT, plus 12 on NBA TV.

By comparison, when the 2017-18 season began with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan on the team, the Clippers were allotted 31 national TV appearances.

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In their first meeting with Golden State, the Clippers won a 121-116 overtime game at home that proved all the more dramatic because of the infighting among the Warriors on their bench and in their locker room.

In the teams’ second game, Steph Curry’s layup with 0.5 seconds left lifted the Warriors to a 129-127 victory.

DELGADO’S BIG NIGHT

Two-way center Angel Delgado made history in the Agua Caliente Clippers’ 112-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Blue on Friday in Ontario.

The G League’s leading rebounder pulled down a league-record 31 boards. It was his third game this season with at least 20 rebounds.

The Clippers’ other two-way player, Johnathan Motley, was activated by the L.A. Clippers on Friday for the first time this season. He checked with 29.8 seconds left the game at Phoenix and was called for a foul.

ICYMI: Player of the Game, @AngelDelgado set a new @nbagleague record in last night’s win with 31 rebounds against the Oklahoma City Blue. 🔥

Mirjam Swanson covers the Clippers and the NBA for the Southern California News Group. Previously, she wrote about LeBron James and the rest of the Dream Team at the 2004 Olympics (where, yes, they took bronze) and Tiger Woods’ last (for now) major championship. Most recently, she’s covered city government, education and the occasional bear in a backyard.